Smoke free environments are not always possible, whether smoke from cigarettes or other air contaminants invade the air. Personal ventilation devices can provide an improved personal and localized environment in areas invaded by smoke, and offer facial cooling as well. What is needed is a personal ventilation apparatus which is adaptable to existing cap designs. The apparatus should provide sufficient air flow to the face of a user such that smoke and other air contaminants are blown away from the user's breath intake. Desirable design parameters dictate a basic and adaptable apparatus, and an apparatus which provides the best ventilation possible with the least amount of energy expended. Solar power is also a desirable feature. Further, a lightweight design is desirable. An additional need is air filtration. The present apparatus fulfills such design parameters.
1. Field of the Invention
The ventilated cap apparatus relates to personal ventilation devices and more especially to a ventilated cap apparatus that is adaptable to existing lightweight cap designs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior related art U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,627 issued to Netschert on 1989-08-22 teaches a complex air filtration and purification hat. The hat has objectives far overreaching those of the present apparatus, and is therefore far more expensive to produce and sell. U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,496 issued to Lewis on 1985-10-15 teaches a device for fitting to the bill only of a hat. The bill only fit dictates that the device be used only with hats of sufficiently heavy construction to support such a device on the bill. Most lightweight caps cannot support such a device. Further, the device uses a blade fan, which cannot flow air as efficiently or as forcefully as the present cage fan apparatus, without the addition of far more power than the present apparatus, and therefore additional weight. U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,423 issued to Droz on 1973-05-29 teaches an entire hat structure. The device does not incorporate solar power. The device is not adaptable to present lightweight cap designs.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective and particular objects and requirements, they do not describe a ventilated cap apparatus that provides for the advantages of the present ventilated cap apparatus. In this respect, the present ventilated cap apparatus substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art. Therefore, a need exists for an improved ventilated cap apparatus.